Locals air concerns over EPA's fuel economy review deadline

Since embracing tough new fuel economy standards in 2012, automakers have spent billions to develop more fuel efficient vehicles and have been so successful at meeting tougher regulations they've become victims of their own success.
USA TODAY

He called Obama-era EPA regulations an "assault on the American auto industry," and automotive interest groups are backing the review.

FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2017 file photo, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt speaks to employees of the EPA in Washington. The Trump administration is moving to roll back federal fuel-economy requirements that would have forced automakers to significantly increase the efficiency of new cars and trucks. The requirements were a key part of former President Barack Obama’s strategy to combat global warming.(Photo: Susan Walsh, AP)

The Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers submitted a questionable report to the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last month.

The trade group funded the report itself, which contains papers and statistics published by other auto industry-funded authors and research groups. Two of the report's authors with ties to the petroleum industry now serve on the EPA's clean air advisory board.

Fewer emission-cutting vehicles the result?

Lower fuel economy standards would mean automakers can produce fewer emission-cutting vehicles, which carry higher price tags and can be complicated to produce.

But locals are concerned rolling back EPA standards would eliminate fuel-efficient vehicle manufacturing jobs, as the state burgeons into a haven for auto manufacturers.

Tennessee is already home to more than 900 automotive suppliers; auto manufacturing outlets exist in 87 of the state's 95 counties.

"I have one of those jobs," Taylor Prince, a chemical engineer for MAC5 Technical Services in Oak Ridge. MAC5 does automotive research and development. He compared the state to Detroit, another auto-manufacturing hub.

Prince also worries that reduced fuel economy standards will create dirtier air in the Tennessee Valley and impact local health and tourism.

Tennessee Valley acts as 'sink' for pollutants

"The Tennessee Valley is a sink for all these pollutants," said Greg Schwartz, a geologist who works for an environmental monitoring company. "We have the mountains on one side and the plateau on the other. Heavy particles in air masses tend to settle here."

Prince and Schwartz said they were happy to see Tennessee Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker supported fuel efficiency standards in 2007.

The EPA must decide by April 1 whether Obama-era corporate fuel economy goals are worth keeping.

The standards under review set a 54.5 mile per gallon goal for model year 2022 to 2025 passenger vehicles.

An EPA overview of the policy said the move would cut 6 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases over the lifetimes of the vehicles sold before 2025 and save consumers more than $1.7 trillion in fuel costs.

The EPA has also estimated the standards would reduce America's dependence on oil by more than 2 million barrels per day in 2025.